# Reseasoning Humidor - where do I store my sticks?



## Mayne Street (Jan 21, 2011)

BotLs,

I'm going to reseason two of my humidors as one is running around 50% RH and the other is 55% RH. I started using these humidors before Puff, so I had no idea what I was really doing. I have a few questions before I start this process:

My humidors each have a shelf in them. Should I leave the shelf in while reseasoning?
Where should I store my sticks while reseasoning? Everyone on here seems to say tupperware, but are we talking tupperware for leftover food or larger rubbermaid storage containers?
I have 2 oz jars of beads in each humidor, what should I do with these while reseasoning? Put them in the tupperware with my sticks until I'm ready to add them back to the humidor?

Thanks in advance for all of your help!


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## FridayGt (Oct 24, 2010)

Ok, this should be a fairly simple process if you follow Herf's seasoning guide. Now, to the questions I can actually answer! lol

Yes, leave in the shelf. If it's made of Spanish Cedar, it, just like the humi, will be a humidity sponge as well.

Everyone is mostly right when they say tupperador's. It's cheap, simple and easy to maintain. The kind of tupperware you get depends upon the size of your stash. Ziploc baggies may work for you, or you may need storage containers or a cooler! Just make sure that they are clean, and if they have that really plasticy smell to them, wash them out very well.

I would certainly put your humidification source in the tupperware with your sticks. They have to maintain there humidity somehow. This could actually be a very beneficial time for your smokes. Without the dry cedar robbing them of their moisture, the should start getting the care they need!

Best of luck!


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## Animal (Sep 27, 2010)

FridayGt said:


> Ok, this should be a fairly simple process if you follow Herf's seasoning guide. Now, to the questions I can actually answer! lol
> 
> Yes, leave in the shelf. If it's made of Spanish Cedar, it, just like the humi, will be a humidity sponge as well.
> 
> ...


What he said!

Also, I'm not too familiar with the climate in MN, but here in Korea the summers are extremely humid and the winters are bone dry. I'm able to keep my RH in the humidor spot-on in the warmer months, but I have to use a cooler in the winter to keep the RH where I want it.


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## Mayne Street (Jan 21, 2011)

Animal said:


> What he said!
> 
> Also, I'm not too familiar with the climate in MN, but here in Korea the summers are extremely humid and the winters are bone dry. I'm able to keep my RH in the humidor spot-on in the warmer months, but I have to use a cooler in the winter to keep the RH where I want it.


Sounds like the MN climate is similar to Korea's. I might have to look into buying a cooler for next winter. Thanks for the advice guys!


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

As suggested, any tight-sealing tupper-like container is ideal. They hold rH better than wood and will protect from damage. If you have a safe place to put them, zipper bags work fine.

On a seasoning note, definitely leave all trays, shelves, dividers inside. You can lightly wipe down these components without fear of damaging your seal. Do it several times over the course of the seasoning process and it will speed things up nicely.

My seasoning sticky should explain how to include your beads in the process.


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## Mayne Street (Jan 21, 2011)

Herf N Turf said:


> My seasoning sticky should explain how to include your beads in the process.


I actually read your seasoning guide on Waxing Moon's site, but I'll have to read the sticky here too. The beads I have are not dry. Do I need to put them in the humidor at a different stage because of that?


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

They will dry sufficiently over the few days of the initial process. They don't need to be bone dry.


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## CraigJS (Dec 23, 2009)

Read Herf N Turfs sticky, follow it, it's the gold standard on how to. 2 oz of beads may not be enough to hold the proper humidity in your boxes. Silica kitty litter also works VERY well. How full are your humidors? Fuller can be better. Don't use tupperware you've used for food, they should taste like cigars not left over mac and cheese. Have you tested your hygrometers? Don't hurry the process. Spend some time searching the site for knowledge, almost unlimited here...


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## rocketmann82 (Jun 20, 2010)

Animal said:


> What he said!
> 
> Also, I'm not too familiar with the climate in MN, but here in Korea the summers are extremely humid and the winters are bone dry. I'm able to keep my RH in the humidor spot-on in the warmer months, but I have to use a cooler in the winter to keep the RH where I want it.


Chad,
I'm glad I'm not the only one. My humi just doesn't want to maintain well in the winter. I can't believe how dry it is here. I leave in 3 weeks going to Utah. I hear it's just the opposite there, bone dry in the summer and more humid in the winter. I may just go to using coolers/tuppidors full time........


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## Animal (Sep 27, 2010)

rocketmann82 said:


> Chad,
> I'm glad I'm not the only one. My humi just doesn't want to maintain well in the winter. I can't believe how dry it is here. I leave in 3 weeks going to Utah. I hear it's just the opposite there, bone dry in the summer and more humid in the winter. I may just go to using coolers/tuppidors full time........


Yeah, I'm with you on that one. I've already got two that I'm using, and a big empty humidor.


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## muddy (Mar 14, 2011)

Take the time the humidors need, i seasoned mine for a week


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Mayne Street said:


> BotLs,
> 
> I'm going to reseason two of my humidors as one is running around 50% RH and the other is 55% RH. I started using these humidors before Puff, so I had no idea what I was really doing. I have a few questions before I start this process:
> 
> ...


Leave the shelves in season the whole humidor. Tupperware is fine for storing your sticks. As long as its clean no food smells sure put your beads in there to. I think the question you need to ask if you had the right amount of beads in there. And you maintained in properly . Is whey do you need to re season. I have never had to re-season a humidor in my life that was functioning properly. If it wasn't capable of holding R/H it became a box for storing drill bits or nuts and bolts in the basement. Best advise i can give you if you re season is read Don's thread about seasoning a humidor.


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## djangos (Mar 14, 2011)

muddy said:


> Take the time the humidors need, i seasoned mine for a week


Agree, mine wasn't holding that well and I reseasoned mine for nearly one week using Herf's method. Read his sticky on the right way to do it. Just amazing! Now mine is holding kind of steady at 63% with beads.


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## CALIFORNIA KID (Nov 21, 2010)

I think everyone already answered your questions but while reading the OP I had a question. How big are your humis, a 2oz jar seams a little small. And this may be why your rh is low as well.


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## Mayne Street (Jan 21, 2011)

CALIFORNIA KID said:


> I think everyone already answered your questions but while reading the OP I had a question. How big are your humis, a 2oz jar seams a little small. And this may be why your rh is low as well.


They are both 50ct humidors and I have 40 sticks in each. I ordered 2 4oz jars from CI to help. The reseasoning process is going well 48 hours in. Both humidors around 75% with the beads and sponge still in there. Will be taking the sponge out in 15 minutes and see what happens in next.


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## Mayne Street (Jan 21, 2011)

Took the sponges out last night and checked the humidity levels this morning. Both humidors were holding steady at 73%. I'll check tonight after work and if it's still above 70%, I'll try fanning some of the humidity out so they are both below 70%. If I can get them to hold below 70%, I'll start filling them back up with cigars.

This is a prime example of why I am so grateful for Puff. I would have had no idea that I could season a humidor to raise the humidity levels. Don - your instructions were excellent!


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## Wineador (Apr 11, 2011)

Good to see you're gaining on it. Keep us updated.


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## Mayne Street (Jan 21, 2011)

The humidors were holding steady at 73% for 24 hours with just the beads. I fanned out some of the air and will check the humidity again tomorrow morning to see if it's stayed under 70%. If it's under 70%, I'll load my sticks back in there.


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## Mayne Street (Jan 21, 2011)

I put my cigars back in the humidors last night with each humidor reading 69%. Checked again this morning and one humidor was at 64% and the other was at 60%. I think I'll be able to hold humidity better once I get my 4 oz jars of beads.

Thanks again for all the insights!


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## CALIFORNIA KID (Nov 21, 2010)

Mayne Street said:


> I put my cigars back in the humidors last night with each humidor reading 69%. Checked again this morning and one humidor was at 64% and the other was at 60%. I think I'll be able to hold humidity better once I get my 4 oz jars of beads.
> 
> Thanks again for all the insights!


The rh drop can also be caused because the cigars that you put in were a little dry. The thing to remember is that you are changing the moisture in the wood just as much as the moisture in the air. because of this you need to take things slow. I would recommend to put the sticks in it and don't open it for any reason, besides to grab a smoke, for a week then see where your rh is at.


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## UncleFester (Jan 5, 2011)

This thread seems like an appropriate place to ask...

Just how often should one plan on needing to re-charge a humidor? I have a new Waxing Moon humidor. If I'm keeping a constant RH does the humidor wood just naturally loose moisture over time?

Once a year???


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## CALIFORNIA KID (Nov 21, 2010)

UncleFester said:


> This thread seems like an appropriate place to ask...
> 
> Just how often should one plan on needing to re-charge a humidor? I have a new Waxing Moon humidor. If I'm keeping a constant RH does the humidor wood just naturally loose moisture over time?
> 
> Once a year???


you should never have to re season a humidor as long as 1) it is seasoned properly the first time and 2) the proper rh is kept consistent.

the most common reasons for re seasoning a humidor are
1 it wasn't properly seasoned in the first place. people often when seasoning a humidor will stop seasoning once there hygro reads 70. but what is important to realize is that once your humidor reaches 70 it needs to stay there for a week or more so the wood can reach 70 as well. then put your sticks in.
2 sometimes (especially in place with extreme weather) rh can drop to the point where your humidor cant recover.


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## Mayne Street (Jan 21, 2011)

CALIFORNIA KID said:


> The rh drop can also be caused because the cigars that you put in were a little dry. The thing to remember is that you are changing the moisture in the wood just as much as the moisture in the air. because of this you need to take things slow. I would recommend to put the sticks in it and don't open it for any reason, besides to grab a smoke, for a week then see where your rh is at.


I grabbed some sticks after work and the rh had gone back up to 64%. The weather in MN is taking a turn for the worst, so I have a feeling I won't be opening up the humidors for smokes in the next week or so. I'll probably update you guys the next time I reach in for a smoke.


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